


Cold is the Night

by andrastesgrace (RoxieFlash), gallifreyslostson



Series: Family Assembled [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-05
Updated: 2015-10-05
Packaged: 2018-04-24 20:54:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4934950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoxieFlash/pseuds/andrastesgrace, https://archiveofourown.org/users/gallifreyslostson/pseuds/gallifreyslostson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, missions have unforeseen complications.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cold is the Night

Steve blew on his hands, rubbing them together briskly as he tried to keep his eyes on the fire. He failed--again--when a rustling noise brought his gaze, _once again_ , to the tent that Peggy was supposed to be sleeping in. He smiled a little, recalling the argument she'd had with Colonel Phillips in order to receive permission to go on the occasional mission with them ("My job, Colonel Phillips, is to assist this effort in any way I can, and that is not going to be fulfilled by waiting here to take flags off a map!"), and the way she'd wiped the smirks off his team's faces when she'd taken Dugan's beer and downed it before slamming it back on the table and asking sweetly if there were any more questions.

Colonel Phillips had taken Steve aside before they left, saying he was holding Steve personally responsible for getting Peggy back in one piece if she was fool enough to go into the field. He thought there might have even been a hint of a smile on the older man's face when Steve replied, "All due respect, sir, but if it comes to that, it's more likely she'll be the reason any of us come back in one piece."

Now if he could just figure out a way to deal with her being there in the moments where they _weren't_ being sprayed with bullets. It all got a lot less straightforward out here without fighting; any moment where he might have wanted to try to kiss her back at base was amplified in the firelight and stillness of the chilly forest. It was fine, more or less, when the other guys were still around, laughing and joking and making Steve shake his head at the absolute lack of censorship around a lady, but once they were all snoring and he was on watch and alone with his thoughts, it took every ounce of willpower he had to stay out of Peggy's tent.

As if to drive the point home, the flap of Peggy's tent suddenly opened, and Steve froze.  Her head became visible soon after, and she squinted at him for a moment before shuffling out, keeping a blanket wrapped around herself tightly.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"I'm freezing," she stuttered, and he frowned in concern. He hadn't really taken that into account--the rest of the team were mostly bigger, and going two or three to a tent, so cold wasn't really an issue. "I thought maybe sitting by the fire a minute would help. If you don't mind the company."

"No, of course not," he said quickly, grabbing an empty mug and filling it with coffee. It might not help her sleep, but it could at least help get her warm. She shot him a grateful look when he handed it to her, wrapping both tiny hands around the tin cup.

"You're not cold?" she asked, glancing him over before looking down at her coffee.

"Not really," he said with a shrug. "A little chilly, maybe. But I'm by the fire."

"You also likely run warmer than average on the whole," she added, her brow creasing thoughtfully. "Side effect of--"

"--the formula," Steve finished wearily. "Erskine's gift that keeps on giving."

"I could do with a gift like that sometimes," she teased. "Might be nice to not shiver all night."

She was still shaking. He knew she could take it, that she wasn't really complaining, because she wouldn't, being cold was just something you had to deal with sometimes in the field. But she was still shaking, and he still hated it.

"Come here," he said quietly, shifting to make space on the log he'd been leaning against. She shot a wary look at him, and he sighed. "Trust me?"

She hesitated another moment before making her way toward him. She handed him her mug and unwrapped the blanket as she sat down beside him, and he slid an arm around her carefully as she pulled the scratchy fabric up over both of them and took back her coffee.

"Better?" he whispered after a minute, when her body finally stopped trembling violently against his side. She hummed an assent, taking another sip of coffee before leaning her head back against his shoulder. "Shared body heat. That's all that's separating those drunks from hypothermia some nights."

"I'd wager that it doesn't require them being quite this close," she replied dryly.

"I dunno," he said, clearing his throat when it occurred to him how close her face was to his neck by the warm breath on it. "Morita accused Dugan of using him as a teddy bear one night."

He grinned when she started laughing, his thumb absently moving over her arm. When she was quiet again he glanced down, expecting to see her staring at the fire, but swallowed hard when he found her eyes on him instead. He used his free hand to brush the stray hairs from her face before cupping her cheek, watching in fascination as her eyes fluttered closed and she leaned into his touch.

"Maybe not _just_ like them," he murmured, his thumb brushing over her cheekbone as she opened her eyes again with effort. He leaned in, pressing his lips to her forehead before taking the mug from her hands. "Get some sleep, Peg. I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm fine," she said, although she made no attempt to get up, and he bit back a smile as he shook his head. He should've known better than to say anything even remotely resembling an order. "You know, the stars would be better out here if it weren't for all the trees blocking them."

"You think?" He adjusted his position a little, his arm falling to her waist, until he was satisfied he could keep himself comfortable for hours. "Still more than I saw in Brooklyn. Too many lights and buildings."

"London has too much fog," Peggy added, and he nodded.

"That's true any time of day there," he observed. "I don't know how you guys manage to move around at all without bumping into things."

"Maybe one day, Londoners will evolve some anglerfish type antennae as a safety measure," she said thoughtfully, and he chuckled.

"Maybe." He tilted his head, studying the sky a minute before pointing. "Trees or not, you can still see the Big Dipper."

"The Big Dipper? Is that really what you call it?"

"Well, yeah. What else would it be called?"

" _That_ is obviously the Plough."

"Is that right? You know, it's suddenly a lot clearer to me why we declared independence. It's exactly that sort of bizarre thinking--"

"Bizarre?” She lifted her head to frown at him, but he only raised his eyebrows at her. She shook her head after a moment before snuggling into his side again. “Besides, we were first, so I think you'll find that technically, it was the Plough before the Dipper, making the former the more correct of the two terms."

" _Technically_ , it's part of Ursa Major because the Greeks thought bears had tails."

Peggy stopped, staring at him a second before laughing and giving him a rueful nod. "That's very impressive for the kid from Brooklyn."

"Knew I'd impress you one of these days," he said with a grin.

"Yes, all it took was a little knowledge of astronomy," she said with a yawn, her head dropping again. "That, and the ability to take a flag no one else had managed to get their hands on in...seventeen...years..."

Her speech trailed off, and he looked down to see her eyes closed finally. That did nothing to diminish the fact that she was talking about being impressed with him before the serum, or the things that realization did to his heart. He kissed the top of her head lightly as she burrowed a little tighter in her sleep, suddenly feeling incredibly glad for the cold weather and shared body heat.


End file.
